Claire
by Victoria Hakadosi
Summary: When Ed and Al are on the train they meet a girl who is more similar to them then they realize, but before they can find out more, they are tossed into one surprise after another.
1. Meeting

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST

Summary- When Ed and Al are on the train they meet a girl who is more similar to them then they realize, but before they can find out more, they are tossed into one surprise after another.

**CHAPTER ONE MEETING: **

"Hey…brother?" Al asks as Edward leans back on the hard train seat and stretches his legs out, getting nice and comfy for the long ride they had ahead of them.

"Yeah?" he mumbles, putting his arms behind his head.

"Do you think…," but Al was cut off by the slam of the train door snapping open and a girl wrapped in a black cloak rushed through, slamming it shut behind her. She rushed down the walkway in such a hurry she didn't see Ed's foot and tripped over it. She fell onto her hands and knees with a grunt. She looked up and looked him right in the eye. It stunned Edward for a moment on how violet her eyes were. She looked back down, her hood covering her face.

"Are you alright?" Al asks, Ed jerking up right to help her up when the door burst open and a man in a military uniform stepped out. That was when she scrambled up and bolted towards the door, the man chasing after her.

Edward turned and looked at Al. They both where very confused. Al started to stand up when something caught Ed's eye making him look out the window. The girl had jumped off the train!

"Al Look!" Edward said pointing out the window. Just then a huge explosion shook the train, causing it to screech to a halt. It jerked everyone forward. Ed and Al both got up and started to run to the front of the train, causing it to screech to a halt. Ed and Al both started to run to the back of the train.

They burst through the train doors one by one till they reached the last train cart. They hesitated at the state of the cart. The whole left side had been blown off.

"Brother!" Al said as Ed ran forward toward the edge.

"Al come here and help me!" Ed said as he hurried along the edge. That was when Al saw the hand of someone gripping on to dear life onto the edge of the train. By now the train had come to a complete stop making it easier to hoist the guy up back on to the train. It was the military man from earlier, the one chasing the girl down the train.

"Are you ok?" Al asks, standing next to Ed.

"Where is she? Where did she go?" the man said grabbing Ed by the shoulders.

"The girl?" Al asks.

"Yeah! Who else? She needs to be caught! Now…Get out of my way." The man yelled trying to get up.

"What can we do to help?" Al asks.

"You need to stay out of this, boy. This is the business of the military." The man said frustrated.

"I am part of the military!" Ed said trying to calm the man down. "Now tell us what we can do." Ed watched the man think for a moment.

"Prove it." He said suspiciously. Ed dug in his pocket, fished out his watch and showed it to the man. The man looked surprised but that didn't stop him form giving orders.

"All right, I need you to chase after her I'll need to stay back and deal with the train."

"Ok Al lets go." Ed said jumping off the broken side of the train, Al following at his heels. The man watched as they broke the tree line and disappeared into the trees. A grin started to grow on his face, a grin of satisfaction.

_What are the chances of running into the FullMetal Pipsqueak? _Envy thought. Red light flashed as envy changed from the military officer into a harmless old woman. Envy made his way back to the train cart and sat down. Envy watched as he saw people rush to the back of the train trying to figure what had happened.

_Now…_Envy thought, _I can let the FullMetal pipsqueak and his brother take care of the girl and I won't have to do a thing. _A smile spread on Envy's face once more as he watched the edge of the tree line.


	2. Caught

**CHAPTER TWO-CAUGHT:**

"STOP!" Ed yelled at the girl as she entered his sight. The girl looked over her shoulder and to Ed's surprise she started to slow down and then came to a complete stop.

"Well about time!" Ed huffed as he slowed his pace, Al following close to him.

"Not by a long shot…Shorty!" the girl snapped at Ed. Even at the distance between them she could see she had hit a nerve.

"What?" Ed says. A loud clap surprised him. He watched the girl, confused at what she was going to do. She knelt and pressed her hands on the ground. A blue light appeared, creating a large rock wall that was about two stories high and so long that from were they stood they couldn't see the end. Ed and Al stood there shocked.

"Brother…" Al said, standing behind him, just as stunned as Ed was.

"Ya, Al I know. Now I'm even more curious about who she is." Ed replied, stepping forward. He clapped, the same blue light appearing, and pressed his hands to the wall. A door formed big enough for Al to fit though. By now the girl had reached the top of the hill. They both took of up the hill trying to catch up to her. It took a while until they caught up to her.

"I said STOP!" Ed screamed as he lunged, catching the girl by the waist with enough force to send them tumbling down the other side of the hill into a clearing.

"Brother!" Al said sliding down the hill behind them. Ed hit the bottom still trying to get a good hold of the girl. She buckled under him until his grip loosened and she jumped up out of his grip. They quickly got to their feet and faced each other. Al stood back behind the girl, just incase she tried to make a run for it. She clapped and pressed her hands to a steel band on her wrist. The band turned in to a steel blade that she balanced in her hand, she stood their tense waiting for Ed to make his move.

"I don't want to fight you." Ed said as he clapped the same way she did and pressed his left hand to his right arm. A blade formed in the top of his arm. She realized his arm was automail. Ed watched her face the whole time he did it. He watched as surprise, sadness and confusion crossed her face all at once before she forced her face blank to not show what she was feeling or thinking.

"You're not one of them…" She whispered so quietly only Al noticed. Ed charged her. She stood her ground until the last possible second. Then she turned to her side and stuck out her foot, tripping Ed. He stumbled but stayed on his feet. He turned on his heel and came at her again. She turned her blade to the side and caught Ed's arm/blade and pinned it into the air. He tried to punch her but she caught his fist in her free hand.

They stood there looking each other in the eye in a battle of wills. Something crossed her face that Ed couldn't read. She decided then to knee him in the stomach. It caused him to grunt and send him to his knees. She tuned to run when Al came up from behind her and grabbed, pinning her against his chest. The sudden force caused her to gasp and drop her blade.

She started to squirm. She flung her head back and head butted Al, causing his helmet to fly off. She saw that the armor was empty with only a blood seal inside. She froze, starring the seal.

"Are you ok Brother?" Al asks in a worried voice.

"Ya…I'm fine Al." Ed said in an angry voice. "I can't believe she got me." He grumbled to himself.

"Is that…" She whispered so quietly that Al almost didn't hear her say anything. He looked down at her and was surprised by the look on her face but it was gone before he could figure out what it meant. She turned around and faced forward her eyes searching for a way out. Her gaze finally fixed on Ed, she watched him get up and walk back to them. Ed looked her right in the eye with a very serious look on his face, she stared back blankly.

"Ok," He said "who are you?" that surprised her.

_Do they not know? _She thought but didn't say anything.

"We are not going to hurt you." Al said, still holding her tightly. She moved around to study them both. She decided that, besides Ed's fuming, that they weren't going to attack her again if she didn't attack them.

"Then put me down." She said slowly. Al loosened his grip and she slipped out. She stepped forward and picked up her blade. They both tensed. She changed it back into a brace and slipped it on to her arm. She turned and watched as Al turned to go pick up his helmet and put it back on his head.

"So who are you guys?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning back against a tree.

"Wait, shouldn't we be asking you that?" Ed said.

"I'm Alphonse Elric." Al said "and this is my brother Edward." Ed looked at his brother slightly annoyed. She looked at Ed for a moment, studying him then looked back at Al.

"_HE_ is the FullMetal Alchemist?" she asked Al with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Hey, what is _That _suppose to mean?" Ed said but was blown off.

"Yeah…"Al said with a smile in his voice.

"_STOP_ ignoring me!" Ed practically yelled. They both looked at him.

"Who are you anyway?" Ed yelled. His anger flattered once he realized how much he was yelling.

"Claire…Claire Baisley." She said. Ed watched her for a moment after her hesitation.

"What are you guys going to do know?" She asked, watching them intently. Ed looked up at the sky.

"Well…I guess we are just going to have to camp here for the night." Ed said. He was right, the sun was setting fast they probably had and hour or to before it was completely dark out.

"I'll go get some wood so we can build a fire." Al said, turning away and jogging out of the clearing.


	3. Past

**CHAPTER THREE-PAST:**

Ed stared at Claire from the corner of his eye. She was a little taller then he was. Her hood had fallen off while she was running letting her long black hair spill out.

_Wow…she is so cute…_Ed thought.

He eyed her curiously, she looked liked she was deep in thought. As if she could feel he was looking at her, she looked up and met his gaze steadily.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked as Ed turned to look at her fully. "Did you perform the forbidden?" she stared at him closely. She noticed the change in his posture.

"I will take that as a yes." Claire said looking up at the setting sun.

"What do you plan on doing about it?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." His eyebrows rose a bit.

"What do you _want_ me to do something about it?" she said sarcastically.

"That isn't what I meant." Ed said. He paused for a moment. "How did you know?"

"While I was fighting you I noticed that your arm and leg was made out of automail, I figured that it must have been some accident but when I saw into you brother armor, I also saw that the seal was made out of blood. That and you not needing to need a transmutation circle it only had to be one thing." She looked back at Ed, he looked a little surprised.

"What?" she asked.

"You got all that from that little of time?" he asked. She shrugged like it was no big deal. Ed noticed there was a light blush on her face.

"So…why in the military after you?" Ed asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She replied after a moment.

"Try me." Ed said crossing his arms. She watched him for a moment.

"The only thing I can tell you is that it isn't really the military after me…"

"Well who is it then?"

"Homunculus…" she said waiting for him to tell her she was crazy but he was just surprised. She suddenly felt tired.

"Well I'm going to find a spot to sleep, goodnight." She said turning around. Ed was just about to say something went Al burst through the tree line, carrying a big arm full of wood.

"Here brother." Al said handing Ed a bunch of wood. Ed turned and looked back at Claire. She was sitting on top of a bolder rubbing her lower back. He wondered if he or Al had hurt her or if she had gotten injured when she jumped off the train. Ed turned and helped Al build the fire.

"Brother?" Al asked as Ed stood up. "What are we going to do about her?"

"I don't know yet but I want to go talk to her, I'll be back." He said then stared to walk towards Claire. By know she had climbed off the bolder onto the ground and was leaning against it. He rounded the rock and looked at her. She looked exhausted. She had purple smudges under her eyes and was a bit pale.

"Are you ok?" He asked sitting down next to her, but not to close.

"Ya. Fine."

"So you figured out some of what happened to Al and me. Can you tell me what happened to you?" After he asked she stayed silent for so long he thought she wasn't going to answer.

"How much do you want to know." She sighed.

"Everything." Ed said trying not to be to nosey or mean about it. She just shrugged.

"Well…oh, alright." She looked up at the stars. "When I was about six my mother took me to the edge of town to the train station. We walked out onto the platform and then she turned to me with a sweet smile on her face. I remember it all in detail what the weather was like, what she was wearing…everything." She paused.

_She looks so sad…_Ed thought watching her face, listening intently.

"She took me over to the bench and told me to sit down and not leave that spot no matter what. I nodded, waving and smiling as I watched her get on to the train. She didn't even look back at me. I sat there for days waiting for her but she never came back. I had become abandoned. I wondered the streets for a long timed it seemed. Everyone passed me; no one gave me a second glance. I lived on the streets for years when I met Kelly. I don't know how but we became friends, she was the only person I new…my only friend. She taught me all she new about Alchemy., it was one of her favorite things.

"About a year later she stared to get very sick. She died of kidney failure later that year. I tried to bring her back but as you know that doesn't work." Claire paused, rubbing her back.

"It went so wrong so suddenly…I had both my kidneys ripped out of my back. I had screamed so loud I could have sworn God could have heard it." She laughed bitterly. "I was in the basement of an abandoned apartment, the people who lived next door must have heard me screaming and came to see what was going on. I was rushed to the hospital and put into surgery immediately. I had died three times on the operating table but they were able to bring me back." She turned as looked at Ed. She couldn't quite read his expression. It looked like it was a mixturer of pity, anger, horror and something else. She pulled her hood up over her head to cover her face.

"Claire…" Ed said reaching out to her.

"Don't touch me. I was willing to share some of my past with you, so leave me alone…and let me go" she said mumbling the last part. Ed was about to say something when they heard a loud crash. He spun around to see Al had slipped of the top of the bolder and hit the ground.

"Were you listening to our conversation?" Ed asked annoyed and embaressed, blushing faintly. Al stood of quickly and bowed.

"Yes, I'm sorry." Ed just shook his head and looked back at Claire. "You should come and sit by the fire or you will get cold."

"I'm fine." She said sternly.

"Suit yourself." Ed said standing up. He looked down at her for a moment she looked cold, maybe even shivering a little bit. He pulled off his red coat and draped it on her. She looked up surprised but he and Al had already started to walk back over to the fire. She looked at the cloak for a moment then pulled it tightly around herself.

_It smells like him…_she thought. _He smells good._


	4. Diagnosed

**CHAPTER FOUR- Diagnosed:**

The sun rose waking Ed up. He stood up and stretched.

"Morning Al." He said yawning. "Did she do anything or go anywhere?"

"No, she is still asleep." Al said with a bit of worry in his voice.

"What is it Al?" Ed said wide awake now. Al shrugged. He wasn't sure but he thought something was wrong. Ed rushed over to Claire, pulling her hood back. She was so pale she was almost transparent. She had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and darker circles under her eyes.

"Claire! Claire, Wake up!" Ed said shaking her gently. She opened her eyes a bit but they were glazed over. Her eyes searched but she wasn't really seeing anything.

"Ed…it…it hurts." She moaned.

"What is it what's wrong? Claire?" Ed was beginning to panic.

"Brother, we need to get her to a doctor!" Al said. Ed leaned over and picked Claire up, carrying her in his arms gently.

"While I was getting some wood yesterday I saw a small town just down the hill." Al said rushing up the hill, Ed following close behind.

"Hang in there Claire." Ed said holding her tightly to his chest.

A COUPLE HOURS LATER:

Ed and Al sat in the cafeteria waiting. Ed was pacing back and forth when the doctor came in. he looked at Ed with a tight face and their stomachs dropped. Al stood as Ed stopped and watched the doctor.

"Well?" Ed burst out. The doctor cleared his throat.

"It's not good…she has been suffering a while without letting anyone know, so I'm glad you brought her." the doctor said.

"Tell us what's wrong with her!" Ed said freaking out. The doctor cleared his throat.

"Well she is dieing from kidney failure. My guess she had been in a lot of pain in the last couple of weeks." Ed froze.

_Dieing..._Ed thought in pure shock.

"You said she was dieing…how long does she have?" Al said in a panicked voice.

"I guess around a couple weeks." The doctor said. "I have her on some painkillers but she is awake if you want to see her." Ed and Al rushed to her room and opened the door with a load click. Claire was standing up and was trying to pull the IV in her arm out when Ed and Al rushed over to her.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked as he grabbed her hand, stopping her. She looked up at him with a stern look on her face that surprised Ed.

"Let. Me. Go." she said.

"Why?" Al said, stepping forward. She was quiet for the longest time. Her eyebrows were draw together as if she was in deep thought. Ed's grip loosened, Claire noticed. She jerked her hands free, ripping the IV out in the process making her wince. She turned on her heel and grabbed her clothes.

"Where do you think you are going?" Ed asked, trying to stop her.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm leaving"

"But you can't!" Al protested. She rushed to the door and reached for the handle. The door swung open before she could grab the handle. A man stood at the doorway. He was tall with his black hair slicked back. He had an eye patch and a big smile planted on his face.

"The Furer!" Al said as he and Ed stood up straight. Ed looked over at Claire as she slowly backed away from the door. She had a look on her face that made her look like she had just eaten something sour. The Furer looked down at her and she looked him right in the eye with out flinching.

"I heard that there was a friend of the FullMetal in our hospital. I just had to come and see who it was." He smiled down at Claire. "Hello, I'm-"

"I know very well who you are." She said her face going blank. The Furer's smile frayed a little. They looked at each other closely, neither one making any sudden movements.

"Oh, do you now." He said. The room fell silent as the tension rose. They all stood there for awhile. Waiting to see what was going to happen.

"Claire?" Ed asked about to step forward but before he could blink he heard a sharp sound of metal hitting metal. He blinked at what he saw. In less then half a second Claire had her steel ban up in the air with the Furer's sword pressing against it. She glared at him. The furer laughed suddenly making Ed and Al jump. He lifted his blade and slipped it back in its case.

"Well my dear, I guess I will be going." He said waving to Ed and Al before putting his hands behind his back and walked out. Claire's shoulders sagged a bit as she lowered her arm. Ed and Al just stared at her, not knowing what to say. She walked into the bathroom and got dressed.

She came out a little while later fully dressed and headed for the door. Ed and Al hurried after her. She walked out the door and straight down the hall, the opposite direction that the furer went, without saying a word. She didn't even look back at them.

"What was that about? Where are you going?" Ed asked.

"Are you feeling ok?" Al said. They kept probing her with questions. She stopped and spun around almost bumping into Ed.

"Stop following me! And leave me alone." She said loudly before she turned and ran. They hesitated for a moment before they chased after her. She had run up the stairs to the roof. By the time they reached the roof she had jumped over two other roofs and was still running. They followed her for a couple of blocks before they were able to get close enough for her to hear them.

"Claire stop!" Al yelled.

"Come On, Claire. I'm SICK of chasing you." Ed yelled after her. She looked back at them for a second before turning and running faster. Ed let out a frustrated sigh as he watched her jump down from the roof that was just ahead of them into the alley below. They jumped on to the ground and ran to the end of the alley.

"Brother! Look out!" Al said from behind Ed. Ed turned to see a black figure rushing toward him. It ran past him, crashing into his shoulder. It knocked him off balance making him land flat oh his face. Al rushed over and helped Ed up.

"What was that?" Al asked.

"I don't know, but I think it was after Claire." Ed said as he gained he balance. They ran over to the end of the alley to see that the black figure was cornering Claire against the end of the alley. She had her blade in her hand and a fierce look on her face. Ed turned his arm into a blade as they ran up behind them.

"Claire!" Ed yelled. She looked past the black figure and saw Ed and Al, her face held a hint of annoyance. She look like she wanted to say something to them be were interrupted by the black figure.

"_Good…smell good…lust…lust…can I eat her now?..." _ the thing said in a human voice. It took a step and walked out to the light at the other side of the alley. It was short and very fat. The thing was drooling slightly and was still mumbling to itself. Ed and Al recognized it instantly. It was the homunculus that they had met a while back, it was named Gluttony.

"Damn it Ed, I told you not to follow me! What were you thinking?" Claire yelled over Gluttony's murmuring. She scowled at them as she waited for an answer.

"What are you talking about? It's not like we would leave you alone after…" Ed said cutting himself off. She new what they meant and frowned a bit.

"What? That I'm going to _die_?" she paused then swallowed, "Well I can take care of my self and I don't get why you should care so much you don't even know me! Let alone that I'm a fugitive!" she yelled the last part at them. That left Ed and Al at a loss of words. They all had almost forgotten about Gluttony, until he turned and lunged at Ed.


End file.
